Merchandise Mart offers fertile ground for designers

Sophisticated high style is always fun to look at.

The Dream Home at the Merchandise Mart in Chicago gives everyone a chance to see what designers can create when they scour the showrooms of the furnishings center.

From a serene bedroom to a dark and dramatic dining room and an environmentally friendly home office, the nine rooms of the Dream Home are open to the public free of charge through Dec. 10.

FoyerWallpaper with a malachite design in the brilliant green of that mineral cover the walls of the foyer, giving a different feel to efforts of bringing the outdoors inside.Summer Thornton of Chicago said the wall covering is inspired by the forest, and she likes the feel for the transitional room where people enter the house. She broke up the design with two large works of art, including a long-exposure photograph of mushrooms by Christopher Becker, and a Chinese Chippendale style mirror that dates from about 1830.Curiosities grouped on the round table in the center of the room range from a brass toad skeleton to petrified wood and plants with tendrils represent a mysterious collector, said Thornton.OfficeTony Stavish of Chicago can show you how to mix patterns, a skill that many a homeowner aspires to.He likes the play between the black and white geometric pattern of the rug and the flame in the same color scheme on the settee. And he throws in drapes with a large overall of birds and flowers to pick up the burnt orange on the couch.But he is quick to point out that the environment was considered throughout the room. The rug is wool and unbleached cotton backed with rubber, the fabric on the settee is hemp that grows without much water or pesticides, and the sofa includes foam made from soy. Pillows sport fabric that combines natural fibers with recycled milk containers.Several watercolor sketches by Albert Krenbiel, who taught at the Art Institute in the 1940s highlight one wall. "Sketching is so hard, and he did them in watercolors," said Stavish.And the beauty of the floor lamp is that you could stack many, many books in the base, under a shade made of recycled newspaper."You always need book storage," noted Stavish.Living roomAlex Jordan Dan Smieszny of Gregga Jordan Smieszny Inc. in Chicago selected a split pea color for the walls to show that art can be displayed on shades that are not white or neutral.Artwork including paintings, drawings, photographs and Japanese pottery with rich, dark glazing "really pops off the walls," said Alex Jordan. Small black and white photographs of portions of Diego Rivera's murals dominate one area.An unusual piece is a Swedish Art Deco cabinet whose neoclassic lines include intricate marquetry.BedroomA large-scale damask pattern printed on grasscloth and an orange hair-on cowhide are the surprises in this room dominated by a soothing platinum. Master bedrooms are tricky because they must be both masculine and feminine, said Jeannie Balsam of Glencoe. And orange is a happy color without being feminine like hot pink.At times the homeowner wants to feel energized even in his or her bedroom, and touches of orange and contemporary art help achieve this."I like the art contemporary in traditional design," said Balsam. Three old milk bottles that started life in a carnival game march across the mantel. The chalky, white, aged look is picked up by an Italian chest of drawers that dates from the early 1900s.The finish on the custom four-poster bed is inspired by a combination of walnut and driftwood. Balsam likes to avoid individual dramatic features that draw attention to themselves, rather creating an overall pleasant space.BathroomThe Stretch rectangular tub from Kohler is gorgeous and because it's a resin composite can have thin, graceful corners. It is shown in a new honed white finish, which gives the illusion of softness.The wavy tile wall is Ann Sacks Bamboo pattern set vertically. And the door to the toilet and its own tiny sink is hidden among the bamboo.Dining RoomIf you want one very dramatic room, you will probably choose the dining room, and the staff from Simeone Deary Design Group in Chicago went all out.It's dark and glamorous, inspired by 1930s and '40s jazz starlets Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne and Sara Vaughn.The designers wanted smokey, moody, sexy, sultry and alluring. The walls started with a very dark gray from Benjamin Moore called Midsummer Night, and a panel of bird feathers was added between the windows.The new ceiling light fixture from Ingrid Meyer, shown for the first time in the United States, creates prism effects with round lucite panels. It hangs above a 13-foot long black table with a high-gloss but crackle finish that is modeled after a black copper ceramic tile.The chairs are black leather fish net, the drapes ruffled satin and the sheers iridescent metallic. A standout of the artwork are three large, dark, layered and unframed photographs, including one of Lady Day herself,KitchenA round island - because Neff has the ability to curve solid wood doors - is the kitchen's stunning focal point. It is topped with sparkly, translucent material called Prexury from Cosentino that is made of semiprecious stones. Other cabinet doors curve, too, and of course Neff mixed dark olive, English sycamore, wenge and ebony-stained rift-cut oak. Gaggenau contributed a lift wall oven where the racks come down out of the bottom for easy loading, then at the touch of a button go up into the oven for cooking.Sitting roomMonica Pedersen, the HGTV designer, and Becky McCallum of Chicago put hot pink velvet on both the clean-lined Madison sofa from Scalamandre as well as that company's Kensington chaise. The blue and white tented stripe wall covering makes the room, which is designed for an artistic woman to relax with a good book-not anything electronic.The floor lamps from Urban Archaeology are called architectural and look like old-fashioned survey equipment or very large wooden compasses like you used in math class.Outdoor roomChristopher Michiels, who also made a name for himself on HGTV, joined with Schmechtig Landscapes and InEx-teriors to create an outdoor room.The EcoSmart fireplace looks very permanent with lots of stone, but it burns alcohol and can be used in portable installations, a great choice for outdoors.The television can stay outside until the temperature gets below 28 degrees, said Michiels.The wall of water with orchids simulates your view - or maybe replaces it. The sofa is woven vinyl to look like rattan, and the coffee table looks like metal but is fiberglass.Don't miss the kitchen behind the fireplace, and other surfaces include counter tops of a sparkling granite-like material called Excalibur and porcelain tiles on the walls.False20001333Platinum makes the bedroom serene. False